UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till odds, best bet

UFC Fight Night takes place Saturday at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and it'll feature a middleweight bout between former champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.

Here's a top play for the event.

Robert Whittaker (-125) vs. Darren Till

The oddsmakers aren't giving Whittaker enough respect in this spot. Even as a slight favorite, there's value on the ex-titleholder.

It's understandable why the lines are close for Saturday's main event. Whittaker is coming off a devastating loss to current champ Israel Adesanya last October, and Till beat Kelvin Gastelum in his last fight. Whittaker edged out Yoel Romero in a 2018 instant classic, but the former champ took a lot of punishment and was rocked in the championship rounds.

"The Reaper" hasn't been the most active in recent years. He took some time off thanks to a handful of injuries and illnesses, and he needed a short break from the sport earlier in 2020 due to mental health issues.

Still, Whittaker is considered the second-best middleweight in the UFC. He won nine straight fights before losing to Adesanya and holds wins over Romero and Ronaldo Souza, among other top talents. It seemed like Whittaker would be at the top for a long time before Adesanya came around in 2018 - it would be a mistake to count the former champ out after one loss.

Stylistically, this should be a fun and competitive matchup. I think it'll go all five rounds, but Whittaker will have the edge over Till, a former welterweight title challenger who moved up to 185 pounds in 2019. Whittaker is a sharp boxer with a ton of power, and Till's gotten rocked in the past. Till has a solid Muay Thai base, but he's not as technical as Whittaker. That will allow the Australian to bust Till up and be the more active fighter. There should be an opportunity for Whittaker to finish Till late since he has more experience in five-round bouts and has won several fights via TKO.

Whittaker will also have the advantage on the ground as an extremely underrated wrestler. The 29-year-old was expected to wrestle for Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but he was pulled from the competition because the Romero rematch was slated just two months later. Although this fight against Till will likely be a stand-up battle, as Whittaker has almost always relied upon his striking arsenal in his UFC career, it's worth noting he's the one with more paths to victory.

Here are the full odds from theScore Bet for UFC Fight Night on July 25:

Main card

Robert Whittaker (-125) vs. Darren Till (-105)
Mauricio Rua (-200) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+165)
Alexander Gustafsson (-340) vs. Fabricio Werdum (+270)
Marina Rodriguez (-180) vs. Carla Esparza (+150)
Paul Craig (-130) vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov (+100)
Alex Oliveira (-175) vs. Peter Sobotta (+145)
Khamzat Chimaev (-1100) vs. Rhys McKee (+700)

Preliminary card

Francisco Trinaldo (-140) vs. Jai Herbert (+110)
Nicolas Dalby (-270) vs. Jesse Ronson (+220)
Tom Aspinall (-210) vs. Jake Collier (+170)
Movsar Evloev (-200) vs. Mike Grundy (+165)
Tanner Boser (-250) vs. Raphael Pessoa (+200)
Pannie Kianzad (-150) vs. Bethe Correia (+120)
Ramazan Emeev (-400) vs. Niklas Stolze (+300)
Nathaniel Wood (-475) vs. John Castaneda (+350)